Most of us work hard earning money. Managing your money wisely in order to save, will build you financial freedom. Few people, however, understand and practice this principle.

How to start your savings starts with managing your expenses- A Budget. Here’s where you start:
*** Develop a monthly budget. Break down you expenses between mandatory and discretionary.
*** If at the end of the budget process, you don’t have enough for savings, determine which of your discretionary expenses can be reduced or postponed that are not important and urgent.
*** Review your budget regularly. See if you are living within your budget and which items need to be adjusted. Can you do away with any expenses? On the contrary, are you saving too much and not enjoying your life?
*** Understand that setting aside savings is important for emergencies also. We all encounter emergencies, but if you are constantly stripping your savings for emergencies then, you will never move ahead with your savings planning. And, are they truly emergencies?

Learn various investment opportunities
*** Earning income from your investments is wonderful experience. It can be exciting and fun. Investment income is considered passive income. In other words, you are not spending labor hours to generate income. Investment income works for you. If you are not experienced with investing, taking classes is extremely wise and helpful.
*** If investing is beyond you, then seek the guidance of a financial consultant.
*** Start early – the power of compounding can do magic to your financial future. Compounding is when income from savings then earns income on itself.
 There are many forms of investments. The higher the return on your investment is usually associated with the risk of the of loosing your investment.
*** Here are just a few forms of investments- bank savings, certificates of deposits, passbook savings, stocks, mutual funds, bonds, real estate and many more.
*** Most investment counselors will tell you to spread your savings over different kinds of investments from less risky, like bank savings to high risk stocks.

If you haven’t started savings, today should be the start of your financial freedom.

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Committee Approves $15B In Cuts To Student Loan Programs

The House Education and the Workforce Committee approved cuts in October of about $15 billion in mandatory spending from student loan programs.

This will certainly have impact on a students ability to get affordable student loans. But, if you spend some time researching how to finance a college education, there are many different accesses to paying for a student education.

There are millions of dollars each year for scholarships, grants and loans that are not utilized by students. The major difficulty of seeking funds is that it takes time. For many students time is not a luxury.

Here are some resources that you might not be aware of:

http://www.fastweb.com is a great resource for scholarships.

http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/index.jsp The governments financial aid web site for student, parents and counselors.

http://www.collegeboard.com also has some great resources for financial aid, scholarships, tools like calculators, etc.

Keywords to search in mycity.com for sources of information:
Student loans
Scholarships
Student grants

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